98 Iowa 748 | Iowa | 1895
It is to be remembered that by the demurrer to i.he indictment the defendant admits that the bank was insolvent when he received the deposit, and that he knew it was insolvent at that time. The acts of congress provide no penalty for the fraudulent receiving' of deposits, and the statute under consideration operates upon the person who commits the crime. And it is not a material question to determine whether it will be necessary to investigate the financial condition of the bank, to prove that the bank was insol vent when the deposit was received. This statute is in the nature of a police regulation, having for its object the protection of the public from the fraudulent acts of bank officers. The mere fact that in violating the law of the state the defendant performed an act pertaining to his duty as an officer of the bank, does not in any manner interfere with the proper discharge of any duty he owes to any power, state or federal. Surely, it was not intended by any act of congress that officers of a national bank should be clothed with the power to cheat and defraud its patrons. National banks are organized and their business prosecuted for private gain, and we can conceive of no reason why the officers of such banks should be exempt from the penalties prescribed for fraudulent banking. Suppose that the deposit in this case had been for such an amount that the- depositor thought it important to inquire of the president of the bank as to the condition